Mop wringer



p 1945- F. M. FRITSCH ETAL "2,384,907

MOP WRINGER Filed May 25, 1944 INVENTOR5.. fi'ank M. fi'ifscb. BY Lawrence B. Fi'ifJch.

Patented Sept. 18, 1945 MOP WRINGER Frank M. Fritsch and Lawrence B. Fritsch, Hamilton, Ohio, assignors to The Eagle Woodenware Manufacturing Company, Hamilton, Ohio, a

4 corporation of Ohio Application May 26, 1944, Serial No. 537,420

1 Claim. (01.15-262) This invention relates to improvements in a mop Wringer, and concerns particularly that type of mop wringer whichis foot operated.

An object of the invention is to provide a mop wringer construction characterized by its simplicity, light weight, and low cost features.

Another object is to reduce the amount of metal needed in the structure, without impairing the efficiency and durability thereof.

Another object is to provide an improved mop wringer which is not destructive of the mop strands, yet effective in its function of removing a maximum amount of liquid from the mop.

Another object is to provide an improved mop wringer construction, wherein various parts subject to wear or injury incident to long or hard usage, may be easily and'quickly replaced with a minimum of labor and expense.

The foregoing and other objects are attained by the means described herein and illustrated in the accompanying'drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of the improved mop wringer of the invention.

Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken longitudinally through the wringer mechanism, showing a slight modification as to the number of wringer rolls employed.

Fig. 3 is an enlarged cross-sectional view of the mop guard, taken on line 3-3 of Fig. 2.

Fig. 4 is a perspective view of a modified form of treadle yoke.

Fig. 5 is a view similar to Fig. 4, showing a second modification of the yoke.

In the drawing, 6 indicates a tank or receptacle,

herein illustrated as a pail, which may be constructed of wood, sheet metal, rubber, plastic, fiber or other suitable material capable of holding water and supporting the wringer mechanism. The receptacle may be provided with'a bail 7 having a hand piece 8 for convenience in carrying the receptacle from place to place. The bail may be pivotally connected to a pair of brackets 9 secured to the receptacle in any suitable manner, at opposite sides thereof. If the receptacle be provided with one or more hoops such as It], the brackets 9 may carry recess portions l2 to accommodate the hoop or hoops.

Beneath the upper edge I3 of the receptacle, the wringing mechanism may be securely fastened to the inner wall of the receptacle. The wringing mechanism may comprise a pair of spaced parallel wringer frame members 14 and I5, each of which may be furnishedrwith a pair 'of obliquely disposed mounting ears l6 perforated to receive rivets or other fasteners I! that extend through the wall of the receptacle.

Except for the fact that the frame members 14 and I5 are made in rights and lefts, they may be structurally identical, and eachwill consist ofan upright strap portion I! provided with an elongated slot l8 adapted to receive the opposite ends IQ of an axle passing through a shiftable mop wringing roller 20. The stationary mop wringing roller 2| shown in Fig. 1, likewise has a similar axle 22, the opposite ends of which are received in opposed perforations provided near the ends of the elongated slots [8. As will readily be understood, the rollers 20 and 2| are freely rotatable in their respective bearings.

From the upright portion ll of each frame member, a section of the metal is turned inwardly and downwardly as illustrated by Fig. 3, to provide a depending skirt which may properly be referred to as a mop guard 23. The purpose of the mop guards is to keep the strands of a mop always at a distance from the ends of the rollers, so that during the wringing operation the strands may not be injured by entanglement with the axles of the rollers; The mop guards should be at least as long as the distance between the rollers when disposed in the inoperative position of Fig. 1.

In order that the shiftable roller 20 may be moved toward the roller 2| in eifecting the mop wringing operation, a treadle yoke is provided comprising a pair of yoke arms 24 and 25, said arms being bent downwardly at their forward ends as indicated at 2,6. The downwardly turned ends of the yoke arms are perforated as at 21 to rotatably receive the extending ends of the shiftable roller axle. The perforated ends may be flexed outwardly sufiiciently to free the roller axle from the yoke, so that the roller may easily be displaced from the elongated slots of the frame members I 4 and I5, in the event that repairs or replacements become necessary.

In the region of the rear ends of the yoke arms, sections 28 thereof are bent to convergency and then straightened so as to terminate in spaced parallel ends 29 providing a clevis in which may be received the perforated end of a treadle actuator bar 31. Through the perforations of the clevis and the end of bar 3|, a bolt 32 may be inserted so as to provide a detachable pivotal connection, between the treadle yoke and the treadle actuator bar. As the connection at 32 is thereby made a separable connection, either of the yoke arms or the treadle bar actuator may readily be replaced should they become worn, bent or otherwise injured.

The lower end of the treadle actuator bar 3| is perforated and extends between a pair of spaced parallel legs 33 secured to the receptacle by means of rivets or other fasteners 34. The extending ends 35 of the legs are perforated to receive bolt 36 passing through the lower end of the actuator bar, so that said bar may pivot about the bolt. The space between the lug arms 33 preferably is sufficiently wide to receive a foot piece 31, one end of which may be twisted or nently held at a proper angle to the treadle actuator bar at all times.

A spring 42 serves to 32 initially upwardly along an ascending arc above roller2l as the pedal is depressed, thereby tilting the yoke arms 24-25 toward the inside of the pail as the yoke is advanced to the mopwringing position. This tilting of the yoke,

' as is obvious, initiates gravitation of dirt-laden yieldingly urge the actuator bar toward the side of the receptacle, to maintain the rollers attheir maximum spacing for the'reception of a mop to be squeezed for removal of water therefrom. As is usual, the pail is provided with a stabilizer 43 which may consist of an angle piece extend- 1 ing from the receptacle at a distance from the treadle, so that an operator of the device may stand uponthe stabilizer with one foot, while operating the treadle with the other.

Figs. 4 and -5 indicate variant forms of the treadle yoke illustrated by Fig. 1. In Fig. 5, the yokearms 23 and 25 are shown merely'as metal straps properly bent as-explained in connection with Fig. 1. In Fig. 1, however, the yoke 'arms'are'provided with gusset straps 44 which span the angle between the portions 24 and 28 of the arms. The gusset straps may be riveted or otherwise fixedly secured to the yoke arms as indicated, and by preference the forward point of fixation 45 will be spaced from the axle hearing at 2'! to permit the necessary flexing of the down-turned arm portions 26, for removal and replacement of roller 20. In Fig. 5,'the gusset pieces are omitted, in which case maximum flexibility of the yoke arms is furnished.

In accordance with Fig. 4, the gusset pieces are replaced by a single U-shaped strut 4B, the

perforate ears of which may besecurely joined to the opposed yoke arms by means ofrivets, screws or other fasteners 48., In all other re spects, the treadle yoke of Fig. 4 is identical with that of Figs. 1 and 5.

In the modification illustrated by Fig.2, the frame member l4, and likewise the opposite frame member l5, may be furnished'with means for'the support of a plurality of stationary rollers 2!!) When, two such rollers are desired, for example, apair of bearings for the axlesthereof would be furnished as indicated at 119 501. These bearings will preferably be located at equal distances above and below the elongated slot l8, and in a vertical plane, so that the shiftable roller 20- when advanced along slots l8 by the action of the yoke, will enter between and place itself in contact with both of the stationary support rolls 21!]. In order to provide the extra bearing 4.9, it-may be necessary to form an upstanding ear 5,! upon each frame member of the pair.

To use the apparatus of Fig. 1, an operator simply inserts the mop within the space bounded by the treadle yoke arms and the shiftable roller 2D, and while stabilizing the receptacle by means of the foot piece 43, he may depress the treadle 3,8: to move the yoke arm 3! outwardly from the pail, against the force of spring 4:2, until the shiftable roller 20 approaches the stationarily supported roller 2| and rests in squeezing relationship to the mop strands. As the mop is pulled upwardly and withdrawn, the rollers 20 and 2| will rotate while squeezing the water from'the mop, thereby completing the mop wringing operation. Upon release of the treadle 38, the spring 42 will return the rolls to the inoperative sepa-.

rated position illustrated by Fig. 1.

It may here be noted that the angularly extendingend 30of the'actu'ator 31, carries pivot ..run back into. the pail rather than onto the floor,

.or onto the shoes and stockings of the operator. As previously stated herein, the construction lightens and shortens the yoke to conserve metal, and it may be noted also that drippings therefrom are directed into the receptacle before the yoke is drawn to overhanging relationship with the bucket or pail.

Fromthe foregoing, it should be appreciated that all operating parts of the wringer mechanism are constructed inexpensively from strap metal and that no castings or forgings are needed in the assembly. This results in reduced production and assembly costs, while at the same time effecting a saving of labor and material. By reason of the separable connections indicated at 32, 36 and 27, any parts that have become worn or bent may easily be replaced with spare parts. The parts may be quickly and inexpensively made from rolled strip steel.

In conclusion, it may be noted that the action of the wringing mechanism is dampened or reduced in power by reason of the leverages inherent in the structure, so that the mop strands, whilepressed sufficiently to expel water, will not be subjected to injurious tearing stresses such as might prematurely render the mop unsuitable for service.-

What we claim is:

A mopwringing assembly comprising in combination, an open-topped receptacle, a pair of slotted frame members supported within the receptacle in spaced parallelism, each of said members including'an inwardly directed skirt, a shiftable roller having an axle with its opposite ends slidably supported within the frame member slots, a stationarily mounted rotatable roller supported by the frame members in position to be contacted by the shiftable roller as the latter is advanced along the slots, and advancing means for the shiftable roller'comprising a yoke having a pair of spaced arms each having a downwardly turned end perforated to support the shiftable roller axle, a convergent portion, and a clevis end, all integral and normally located within an area circumscribed by the top of the receptacle, a yoke actuator bar having a lower end, and an upper end including an, angularly disposed extension projecting over the top of the'receptacle toward the center thereof, means, pivoting said lower end to the receptacle exteriorly thereof, a pivot connecting the yoke arm clevis, sections with the 'actuatorbar extension at an elevation above the stationarily mounted roller and within the open top area of the receptacle, said pivot being closer to the vertical center line of the receptacle than is the pivoting means at the lower end of the actuating bar, whereby advancement of the yoke, the actuator bar, 'and the shiftable roller toward mop-wringing position causes the extension to elevate the clevisend of the yoke to induce gravitation of water thereon'toward the interior of the receptacle, and treadle means operative upon the actuator bar to so advance the, parts to the mop-wringing position.

FRANK 1M. 'FRITSCH.

LAWRENCE B. FRITSCI-I. 

